Good Intentions Pave the Road

Yes, it really is Friday. And the last one in April, to boot!

Thanks for hosting Jen!

ONE

My awesome editor at Ignitum Today, Stacy "The Boss" Trasancos, is the best. These past few months for me have been trying, especially from the personal stand point that I've hardly had time to edit/ publish my scribblings - particularly ones I've been asked to do, like book reviews.

She's given this piece of advice so many times, it almost hit me in the head once I realized it applied to me too: whenever one of the writers freaks out because deadline is looming and something else has come up, she tells them,

Don't worry. Life and family comes first.

Huh. That certainly isn't rocket science. (Her Ph.D. is in Chemistry, anyways.)

But when I was feeling bogged down by work and pregnancy nausea and trying to support my husband while we lived an hour and a half apart most of the week, I remembered what she said and decided to give my two weeks notice at my part-time job. It's the first time I've put my new family before any sort of job before (in a big way, at least), and it feels really right. Begone stress!

TWO

Do you follow Pope Francis on Twitter? WHY NOT?! The man is our spiritual leader, and gives us daily tidbits (in multiple languages too!). Today's tweet is: Dear young people, do not bury your talents, the gifts God has given you! Do not be afraid to dream of great things!

Oh, and THIS: 

Totes does: https://www.facebook.com/CatholicMemebase

THREE

Did I say "pregnancy nausea"? Whoops. Nausea so bad I've been on medicine, naps and 64 oz of water a day since February? Okay, yes. I am pregnant!! Here's a picture of me at 17 weeks:

Baby bumpin'.

You can't tell -- as much -- when I'm with all my siblings:

What a good looking bunch!

FOUR

Looking for a super awesome cookbook to use? I highly recommend Cheap. Fast. Good. by Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross. My mom bought it for me when I was first living on my own as a statehouse reporter, but I've really put it to use in married life. The recipes are delicious, they use every day ingredients plus tell you how much it will cost to make per serving, and the authors give tons of newbie advice, especially great for those new-ish to navigating the grocery store on a budget (but also for people in general!).

FIVE

I'm also reading Bringing Up Bebe: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting by Pamela Druckerman. No, I'm not a Francophile - but neither is the author, which is what makes the book work so well. She was a WSJ journalist who met her English husband on assignment, stopped working for the paper, moved to France and married her beau, and - lo and behold! - had herself some bebes. This book is creative nonfiction and a fascinating study of French parenting. The biggest thing I've taken away is that I will also teach my bebe to sleep through the night by four months, and I can eat sushi and brie if I'm really careful. Yes, my stomach is reading this book too. I really recommend it; read with a grain of sea salt... what am I saying. Read it while eating a baguette!

SIX

That book is also encouraging my love of cheese.

Oui-oui, s'il vous plait!

SEVEN

Reminder that April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month! I'll be publishing something by the end of the month, and if any of you have a story or post, please share it with us on the Bright Maidens FB page. Four days left!

Have a wonderful Friday, y'all! I'm finishing up my part-time job work and then I start a weekend babysitting job tomorrow at 8 a.m. The fun don't stop!!

2013 GPA Redistribution Video

My alma mater won the contest. Obviously.

Love Revealed

There can be no real love without our free will. In today's Gospel, Jesus asked Simon Peter three times if he, Simon Peter, loved him, Jesus. Of course he does, Peter says. But then again, Peter also denied Jesus three times before the cock crows. We all have our moments of weakness.

Mine came earlier this week, when my alarm to wake-up went off around the time I was carrying a tray upstairs to my Mom with her breakfast. First of all, it's nerve-wracking enough carrying a tall glass of milk with no lid. Secondly, my alarm is annoying. Annoying enough to make me want to snooze it only out of desperation for more sleep because I don't like hearing it go off.

The dogs keep Mom company

The real question you're wondering is why I was carrying breakfast to my Mother when it was
A) not Mother's Day;
B) not her birthday;
C) a regular week day work day.

The story starts thousands of years ago, when Jesus performed miracles and told the people he cured and ordered them not to tell anyone else about it. He was serious, too. DO NOT TELL ANYONE, he said. Off ran the lepers, praising Jesus. Off went the adulteress, praising Jesus. Off went the formerly-dead-and-now-alive + family/ friends/ witnesses, praising Jesus.

Now, if I were Jesus, I would be annoyed. My alarm clock going off annoyed. Mr. Incredible "I feel like the maid! I just cleaned up this mess!" annoyed. I imagine Jesus thinking, I said No! Gah. Now they want to make me their earthly King because I just fed the thousands of people with five loaves of bread and two fish. Gotta re-camp so I can re-think how to talk about the Kingdom of God. So much for making my point!

Perhaps, though, his thoughts are more charitable than mine. After all, Jesus did not do these deeds because he is a "nice guy"; he is God. Jesus is not just a moral guy, following the Golden Rule; he is God. He did not cure the blind and the lame for personal gratification; he is God. Jesus told them to pick up their mat; he had forgiven them their sins. He told them to sin no more. He had opened their hearts by action, freely and out of love.

C'mon guys, let's go evangelize the world!

A little over two weeks ago, my mom and two sisters were in a terrible car crash on the way home from Easter break. In a miraculous way, they walked away. The car is totaled. The youngest only has a few bruises; the middle sprained her ankle, and we'll watch her on crutches at her Shakespeare performance tonight; my mom broke her clavicle, a couple ribs, and has a small puncture in her lung. They're all healing well, physically and emotionally.

That night, my husband had arrived for a long weekend with me - his attending went on vacation and told him to take off the time too. No objections! Our time is so limited together. Instead, as soon as we got the phone calls, he offered to drive down with my father to pick up our three injured family members. Out of love they both acted. Freely, they drove 7+ hours through the night to reach the hospital. Two days later, they were all home.

I've come to better understand Jesus' order to not tell anyone of the miracles he performed after what happened to my mom and sisters. He didn't do it for the attention; he did it as an act of love. We've been asked so many times why we haven't called and told people, why we haven't been more vocal about the accident. It's because it was a miracle, and we're still in awe that three alive and with us today. They're alive because of the Love of Jesus - and how is that quantifiable?

Our cousins gave us this edible fruit-flower basket: gone.

Do you love me? asked Jesus; Yes, and thank you for my sister.
Do you love me? asked Jesus; Yes, and thank you for my sister.
Do you love me? asked Jesus; yes, and thank you for my mom.

Thank you for the meals from family and friends; thank you for our close family, as we take care of and nurture each other; thank you for for the nourishment your Word gives to this life.

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs." A second time he said to him, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my sheep." He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" And he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep" (John 21: 15-17).

Gosnell and the Reality of Born-Alive Infants

A documentary on the man and the facts of his crimes. If anything, listen to the witness of the women. The testimonies of the African American community are also very moving:



More stories:
The Catholic World Report: When “the Silent Scream” isn’t silent anymore
USA Today: Philadelphia abortion clinic horror: Column
First Things: A Missed Opportunity That Will Still Be There Tomorrow

Pray for Dr. Gosnell, pray for those who worked for him (especially strength and courage for the ones testifying and are also being convicted), pray for those affected, pray for the innocence and innocents taken.

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:22-23).

Keeps Grace

“As Kingfishers Catch Fire” by Gerard Manley Hopkins, SJ

As king fishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame;
As tumbled over rim in roundy wells
Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell’s
Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name;
Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:
Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;
Selves — goes itself; myself it speaks and spells,
Crying What I do is me: for that I came.

I say more: the just man justices;
Keeps grace: that keeps all his goings graces;
Acts in God’s eye what in God’s eye he is —
Christ. For Christ plays in ten thousand places,
Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his
To the Father through the features of men’s faces.